


Street Fighting Man

by springsteenicious



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: F/M, season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26482165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springsteenicious/pseuds/springsteenicious
Summary: Hyde finds Jackie crying at the Packers Game. He tries to fix it.
Relationships: Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde
Comments: 10
Kudos: 55





	Street Fighting Man

Hyde was squished next to Jackie in the Vista Cruiser. He'd wanted to take the El Camino, but Red had insisted they all go in the same car. Fez was in the trunk, but Hyde was still squeezed like a sardine between Jackie and Kelso. As much as he liked being close to Jackie, it wasn't his first choice right now. She'd broken up with him. 

And she'd broken up with him for stupid reasons. He didn't understand why she couldn't just be happy with what they had. He sure as hell had been. 

Which was still strange to him. He'd realized it the last time they'd gotten back together, when she'd chosen him over Kelso. He was actually happy with her.   
Happy wasn't a word he ever thought he would describe himself with, yet here he was. Of course, he wasn't happy anymore. He wasn't feeling anything. He was using his Zen, distancing himself from the situation. 

"So, let me get this straight," Fez said from the trunk, "Hyde and one of us will go in with the two ticket stubs, then one of us will come back out and get the other?" 

"Yes," Hyde said, for the hundredth time. 

"We got this," Kelso said confidently. There was no way they were getting this. 

"No you don't. There's no way you two are getting in," Jackie said. She'd voiced his thoughts. That used to be cool when they were dating, but now it just made him angry. 

They arrived at the stadium quickly. Jackie put as much distance between the two of them as possible, which was fine by Hyde. They got their seats and Hyde handed Fez the ticket stubs so he could go get Kelso. Jackie and Donna sat behind Hyde, Forman and Red. 

Hyde took a deep breath and focused on the game, ignoring how close Jackie was to him. For the most part, he succeeded in shutting her out. Shutting her out was difficult, but he would have to keep doing it if she was going to keep them apart. 

~

Jackie huffed. Steven wasn't responding to any of her manipulation tactics. Not the pictures with other guys, not the caramel corn, nothing. He was acting like their breakup didn't even matter to him. Maybe it didn't. 

She stood on the stairs next to where he was sitting. "Okay, Steven?" He looked up at her. "Certain people have implied that I _might_ still have feelings for you." That was completely true. She still loved him with her whole heart.

"But I want you to know that I don't." He stared up at her, face unreadable. "In fact, now that I'm single, I realize how big of a loser you are and I'm lucky to be rid of you! So I'm gonna go and celebrate with a giant gold and green cotton candy!" 

Jackie stomped up the stairs, away from him. She pushed through the gold-and-green-clad crowd as tears welled in her eyes. She found a cement beam next to a trash can that mostly hid her from view. She leaned against it as the tears started falling. 

She couldn't stop them. She didn't _want_ to stop them. As tears fell down her perfectly made-up cheeks, Jackie hoped Steven knew she didn't really mean what she'd said. 

~

Hyde walked through the maze of snack stands and Packers fans. Jackie was being really bitchy about their breakup, especially considering she was the one who instigated the split. Why would she say those things to him? It was clear she still had feelings for him; the way she'd acted today was obvious. He was ready to give her a piece of his mind. 

He stopped short when he saw Jackie, facing away from him with her shoulders shaking slightly. She seemed like she was crying. A loud sniffle and sob confirmed his suspicion. 

No way could he just leave her there. Hyde walked over to her slowly, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder when he reached her. 

"Hey," he said softly. He hoped she could hear him over the noise of the stadium. 

She looked up at him with tear stained cheeks and red eyes. He wanted to hug her, hold her until all her problems went away, but he couldn't. 

"I know this is probably the dumbest question to ask, but I don't want to assume, so… What's wrong?" Hyde asked. 

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I hate this." She gestured between them.

"Me too," Hyde said. 

"Really? Because you don't show it," Jackie said. 

"Jackie, I never show how I feel." 

"You're really not happy with our breakup?" Jackie asked, punctuating the question with a sniffle. 

"Of course not. You're the one who broke up with me," Hyde said. He chewed the inside of his cheek. He had a bunch of other things to say, but he wasn't sure if he should. If she wasn't going to be with him without expecting marriage, it would all be worthless. 

"I know. I hate not being with you, but I can't be with you if you're not willing to commit," Jackie said. 

"I'm not ready for all that, man. We're just teenagers. You're not even out of high school yet. I don't want us to rush into a future we're not ready for. And I'm sorry I keep telling you 'I don't know' but it's true; I _don't_ know," Hyde said. 

"What don't you know? Do you not know if you love me? Do you not know if you want a future with me? Do you not know what's going to happen in the future?" Jackie asked. 

"I do know that I love you. I have for a long time. But, no, I don't know what's going to happen in the future. I do know that I don't want you to throw yours away because we rushed into marriage," Hyde said. 

"But Steven, you are my future. I want to be with you for a long time and I need to know you want the same thing. Just dating isn't enough," Jackie said.   
"Why? Because you don't want to waste time on me?" Hyde asked. 

Jackie looked away from him. 

"Right. You know, I don't think any of our time together was ever wasted time. Whether we end up married or not, _we-_ " he gestured between them, "-were never a waste. But if you feel that way, we clearly shouldn't be together," Hyde said. He wasn't sure when he had become this mushy, but the words were just coming out now. He had no control. 

"No, Steven, that's not what I meant. Of course our relationship wasn't wasted time. I just…" she trailed off. Hyde waited for an answer. "I need to know I'm a part of your future." 

"I would like it if you were. But I don't know how we'll feel about each other in a year, five years, ten years… I can't know that, so I can't promise you anything just yet," Hyde said. 

"Yet?" A tentative smile formed on Jackie's face. "Are you saying maybe one day you'd consider getting married?"

Hyde hadn't meant to say the 'yet' part, but it was out there now, so…"I guess so."

"That's good enough for me," Jackie said. 

"Really?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah. And I think all this time we're spending apart is the real waste of time," Jackie said. 

Hyde grinned. Jackie stood on her tiptoes and kissed Hyde deeply. He wrapped his arms around her as a thrill went through his chest. He had missed her so much. 

"Yay, they made up!" Donna said. 

Jackie and Hyde parted and looked over to see Donna with both Fez and Kelso. 

"I can't believe you got them both in," Hyde said. 

"We went through a hole in the fence," Kelso said. 

"Yes, we did not even need the tickets," Fez said. 

Red rushed over to them, grinning. "Eric got in a fight! He's getting escorted out by security right now!" 

"What?" Donna asked. 

"Come on!" Red ushered them all over to a pair of security guards dragging Eric out of the stadium. He was still kicking his legs wildly. 

They reached the gate and he yelled, "I will tear that ass up!" 

The security guards dropped him and made sure he was outside the gate before walking away. The rest of them joined him. 

"Since Eric got into a fight and got kicked out of the game… Everyone ready to go home?" Red asked. 

They all nodded and agreed. Soon, Eric, Donna and Red were in the front seat of the Cruiser. Jackie, Hyde, Kelso and Fez were squished into the back, because Fez complained about being cramped in the trunk. Jackie put her legs over Hyde's lap to create some space. 

When they got back to the Formans', Fez and Kelso dragged Donna with them to a movie while Red and Eric went inside. Hyde stood behind the Cruiser with Jackie. 

"So… wanna hang out for a little bit?" Hyde asked. 

"Yeah, that sounds good," Jackie said. 

Hyde wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they walked down to the basement. They went all the way to his room, closing the door behind them. Jackie sat on his cot, taking her hat off and tossing it on the old armchair. Hyde sat next to her once he took off his coat and draped it over the dresser. 

Jackie unzipped her jacket. "So does this mean I can talk about weddings?" 

"You can talk about wedding stuff once every two weeks and for no more than two hours," Hyde said. 

Jackie grinned. "Great! So, for our wedding, I think we should get married at-" 

"Not right now," Hyde said. 

"Fine. But I have everything planned out and you're gonna love it," Jackie said. 

"Sure." Hyde leaned in and kissed her softly to distract her from wedding-talk. Plus, they'd been apart for a while and he missed the taste and feel of her lips. She deepened the kiss, pulling him down on top of her. Hyde had missed his chick so much. 

~

Jackie sat in the passenger seat of the El Camino, Steven beside her. It was nearly midnight and he was driving her home. He'd let her pick the radio station, so Leo Sayer's 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' was playing. 

Jackie was so happy to finally be with Steven again. Breaking up with him had been a stupid decision, but they'd fixed it. He'd given her hope of a future together, which was all she needed. She slid her hand over his knee, making him glance over and smirk at her. 

Steven pulled into her driveway. The Lincoln was nowhere to be seen, meaning her mother was gone for the night. Steven seemed to realize that too.   
"You all right staying here alone?" he asked, looking at her with concerned eyes. 

Jackie stared at the empty driveway for a moment. Her mom probably wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Steven had stayed the night before and the Formans had never questioned it. 

"You wanna stay the night?" Jackie asked. 

"Sure." Steven turned off the Camino and got out. He went around and opened the door for her, as always. Together, they walked up the driveway and she unlocked the front door.

~

Hyde wound his arms around Jackie as they settled into her bed. He was laying behind her, her back pressed against his chest. They'd done this countless times before. The time they'd spent apart recently didn't even matter. Their current position felt natural and right. 

Hyde's eyes fell shut as his nose was overwhelmed with the scent of Jackie's hair. He pressed a gentle kiss to her back. She took his hand and wove their fingers together. 

"I missed you, Puddin' Pop," she said quietly. 

"I missed you too, grasshopper," he whispered back.

**Author's Note:**

> number 20, written for my numbered draft game on tumblr! find me at springsteenicious
> 
> i have sort of an after math part written for this and i'm not sure if i should post it so let me know if you want me to or not


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